Where do Ralph Lauren, Donna Karan, and others relax after the chaos of Fashion Week? With the CFDA, we present an intimate look into the private quarters of over 100 top designers. Explore eclectic homes from tiny one-bedrooms to sprawling estates…

“When you go to those places, you’ll discover that although many of them do indeed sport gleaming glass, tubular steel and so on, there are often glorious splashes of color to complement the white walls. And one of the most gifted colorists of the era was none other than Le Corbusier himself; the vibrant shades he chose then are among the best you’ll find today.”

The Roy Lichtenstein 1964 painting “Ohhh…Alright…” was sold at Christie’s auction of postwar and contemporary art on November 10 for a whopping $38 million or $42.6 million including Christie’s fees (watch video of the moment here). The painting topped even a Warhol soup can and opener which fetched $23.9 million, considerably less than the $30-$50 million estimate. Las Vegas casino owner Steve Wynn was the seller. The buyer was an anonymous bidder on the phone. There was only this single bidder who had made a contractual agreement with the auction house before the sale.

This project lays bare two secrets of the New Dutch Waterline (NDW), a military line of defence in use from 1815 until 1940 protecting the cities of Muiden, Utrecht, Vreeswijk and Gorinchem by means of intentional flooding. A seemingly indestructible bunker with monumental status is sliced open. The design thereby opens up the minuscule interior of one of NDW’s 700 bunkers, the insides of which are normally cut off from view completely. In addition, a long wooden boardwalk cuts through the extremely heavy construction. It leads visitors to a flooded area and to the footpaths of the adjacent natural reserve. The pier and the piles supporting it remind them that the water surrounding them is not caused by e.g. the removal of sand but rather is a shallow water plain characteristic of the inundations in times of war.The sliced up bunker forms a publicly accessible attraction for visitors of the NDW. It is moreover visible from the A2 highway and can thus also be seen by tens of thousand of passers-by each day. The project is part of the overall strategy of Rietveld Landscape | Atelier de Lyon to make this unique part of Dutch history accessible and tangible for a wide variety of visitors.

Bunker 599
The Dutch Service for Land and Water Management
Diefdijk – Highway A2 (Amsterdam – Den Bosch)
The Netherlands

In 1969 at the Turin show Ferrari a second concept car prepared by Pininfarina, the 512S. The man responsible for the design was Filippo Sapino.The concept was built on the chassis of the new 512S race car. Following the P5 concept, the 512S was even lower and more wedge-shaped. The 5 litre V12 provided power and the canopy tilted up for cockpit access.

For the ladies …. Imagine small candies made of delicate sugar layers, moulded into the shape of plump little multicoloured squares… Bite into one, and savour that wonderful, soft, fruit-flavoured paste, the charm works its spell, and that’s the froufrou effect!

In a career that spanned sixty years, Alfred Hitchcock made more than fifty feature-length films and hosted his own television series, transforming the thriller genre in the twentieth century. Author Laurent Bouzereau puts this incredible canon into perspective, examining the master’s life thematically: his archetypal anti-heroes; his complicated female characters; his charming villains; and something Bouzereau calls “the Hitchcock touch” — those elements of film that are, quite simply, Hitchcockian.With a foreword by Hitchcock’s daughter, Patricia Hitchcock O’Connell, Hitchcock, Piece by Piece is packed with photographs from the family’s archive, many of which have never been published before, plus removable facsimile memorabilia such as letters, memos, and snapshots, which frame the story of the director’s life and work.

The Margravial Opera House or Margrave’s Opera House is a Baroque opera house in the town of Bayreuth in Germany. It is one of Europe’s few surviving theatres of the period and has been extensively restored. It was built between 1744 and 1748 by Joseph Saint-Pierre; the interior was designed by Giuseppe Galli Bibiena and his son Carlo of Bologna in the late Baroque style. Princess Wilhelmine of Prussia, wife of the Margrave Frederick, participated here as writer, player, composer, actor and director. Today she features in a sound-and-light presentation for tourists.

Clearly, with Gilbert Yeung at the helm, this isn’t your average billiards club. Nor is it your standard club. A cross between a lounge-billiards hall with the capabilities of turning into a full fledged club, Tazmania Ballroom is just another glam spot to be seen and be seen.

Pommery’s roots can be traced back to 1836, when Narcisse Greno first envisioned the champagne. Two decades later, he teamed with Alexandre Louis Pommery; when the latter died in 1858, his widow took over the business and ten years later constructed the Pommery chateau. Louise Pommery’s greatest contribution to the champagne house, however, was the acquisition of a network of crayeres, the subterranean limestone-chalk networks built underneath Reims by the Romans during their rule over Gaul. It was here that the most remarkable vintages of Pommery gained their character; today, more than 20 million bottles are maturing 30 meters below the surface, kept at a constant temperature of 10 degrees Celsius. Pommery’s fame extends far beyond the chilly earth beneath Reims. In 2002, the house was purchased by wine producer Vranken Monopol. Never far from its past, the Pommery chateau still stands in Reims, where it welcomes some 120,000 visitors per year.

The Phantom Corsair is an automobile prototype from 1938. It is a six-passenger coupe that was designed by Rust Heinz, a member of the H. J. Heinz family, and Maurice Schwartz of the Pasadena, California based Bohman & Schwartz coachbuilding company. The design was a departure from contemporary car design and it did away with many features, common at the time, that were eventually abandoned by mainstream designers.

The ultimate sartorial and etiquette guide, from the ultimate life and style guru. By turns witty, sardonic, and always insightful, Glenn O’Brien’s advice column has been a must-read for several generations of men (and their spouses and girlfriends). Having cut his teeth as a contributor at Andy Warhol’s Interview in its heyday, O’Brien sharpened them as the creative director of advertising at the hip department store Barneys New York for ten years before starting his advice column at Details magazine in 1996. Eventually his column, “The Style Guy,” migrated to its permanent home at GQ magazine, where O’Brien dispenses well-honed knowledge on matters ranging from how to throw a cocktail party (a diverse guest list is a must), putting together a wardrobe for a trip to Bermuda (pack more clothes for less dressing), or when it is appropriate to wear flip-flops in public (never). How To Be a Man is the culmination of O’Brien’s thirty years of accumulated style and etiquette wisdom, distilled through his gimlet eye and droll prose. With over forty chapters on style and fashion (and the difference), on dandies and dudes, grooming and decorating, on how to dress age-appropriately and how to age gracefully, this guide is the new essential read for men of all ages.

Just listened to the two of the tracks that were leaked by unknown online pirates. As always, I’m very impressed with these guys and I think they captured the Tron universe spot on! It’s very dark, intense and repetitive. If the rest of the album is just as good it might be my new favorite soundtrack (so long Blade Runner!) Did I ever tell you I’m an old-school Sci-Fi nerd? Well, I can’t wait to get my hands on it. Daft Punk is the new Wendy Carlos:-)

The DeTomaso Mangusta is a sports car from Italian automobile manufacturer DeTomaso produced between 1967 and 1971.The Mangusta replaced the Vallelunga model, on which its chassis was based. The word “Mangusta” is Italian for “Mongoose”, an animal that can kill cobras. It was rumored that the car was so named because DeTomaso had been promised engines from Ford that went to the Shelby Cobra instead. The Mangusta was replaced by the much cheaper to build DeTomaso Pantera in 1971.401 Mangustas were built, about 150 of the european version, with 4 headlamps and Ford 289 Cu.In. engine, and the rest are USA version, with 2 “pop up” headlamps and less powerful Ford 302 engines. One car was built with Chevrolet engine. There are reported to be fewer than 128 left in existence, according to the 2 available registires.

COOL! Learn the secrets of ancient martial arts and the mysterious ninja warriors with one of New York’s oldest Bujinkan schools, affiliated with Bujinkan Hombu Dojo in Japan since the 1980′s.* Your instructor was awarded the title of Shidoshi, “teacher of the warrior ways” in 1991* Learn the history and philosophy of this 900-year-old martial art* Practice their self-defense, heightened awareness and combat strategy methods

Champagne tastemakers Moët & Chandon have unveiled their first and only vintage of ice champagne, Moët & Chandon Ice Imperial.A blend of pinot noir, pinot meunier, and chardonnay, this new champagne has a tropical blend of fruit and floral notes, and is intended to be consumed on the rocks.The Moët Imperial Ice will be available only in the most exclusive resorts around the world.

Belgian designer Dries Van Noten produced a premium version of the classic Doctor’s Bag in black leather with four belt buckle style fastenings and various zipper and stud details. Another practical and stylish option to carry your day to day goods.

A couple of professional guys moved from New York to live and work in London – but discovered that good, wholesome cupcakes, sweet pies and fresh tarts were really hard to come by.Outsiders as they both are, they set about rectifying the situation by turning a favourite hobby into an award-winning business.Outsider Tart is an authentic US bake shop and cafe which is devoted to all things sweet and yummy.

This book offers new solutions for event architecture, scenography, media installations, interiors, and stage design. Thanks to globalization and digitalization more and more aspects of our business lives and leisure time are taking place on the internet. Consequently, there is more pressure to create the proper setting when we actually do come together. The spaces where we come into face-to-face contact with our target audiences have to be precisely arranged in order to make an impact or to communicate information effectively on an emotional level. That is why so many different creatives are currently working on developing designs in physical space. Staging Space presents an extensive collection of work in which images and space meld seamlessly into a single narrative entity. The spectrum of examples includes exhibition and event architecture, interior design, art installation, and stage design as well as multimedia brand concepts and light projections on city surfaces. The book also features an array of hybrid solutions whose focus lies on using space to achieve pre-defined dramatic effects. The diverse international work collected in Staging Space demonstrates inspirational new applications for aesthetics, information technology, and sales pitches. Because this work crosses boundaries between creative disciplines and defies convention, it gives us the opportunity to appreciate the added value of a well thought-out presentation in physical space. This insight is especially relevant for those working as designers, interior decorators, and set designers, but also for those in advertising and marketing.

This extremely rare series of illustrations to various books by Alexander Kazantsev (one of the first Soviet science fiction writers) shows very clearly what kind of future the communist dreamers preferred. Think cool robots, intrepid explorers, brainy scientists, eerily Star Wars-like aliens and a huge doze of humanitarian optimism.These government sponsored (and approved) images were published by Detskaya Literatura Publishing House from 1950s to 1970s – DETGIZ, geared toward Soviet Komsomol Youth – and were recently brought back from oblivion by M. Moshkov’s online library.

Legendary producer Giorgio Moroder also made his own sports car!!!! In the mid 1980s, Giorgio Moroder and sports car specialist Claudio Zampolli decided they wanted to build something truly unique. Their vision was of the ultimate super-luxury, super-performance sports car. This car borrowed from the realm of rich mens daydreams would offer everything the wealthiest might want in such a vehicle-bold innovative styling, custom manufacturing, greatly enhanced performance, and infinite luxury. Combining their names (Cizeta is Italian for C.Z., Zampollis initials), the two men decided to refer to their supercar as the Cizeta-Moroder.To create a look worthy of such a supercar, Moroder and Zampolli turned to Marcello Gandini. This accomplished sports car designer had become famous by producing the styling of many Lamborghinis such the Countach and the Lancia Stratos. And the two visionaries were rewarded for their choice with a design that is rich, sleek, sporty and dramatic.But where do you go to build a car the likes of which the world had never seen? Moroder and Zampolli went to the Mecca of fine Italian car production-Modena, Italy. Here a crew gathered that included many who had worked on Marcello Gandinis Lamborghini Countach years earlier.The car was shown at the Geneva Auto Salon in 1988 with tremendous success. By 1991, the attractive Cizeta-Moroder V16T was delivered to the world and available for purchase. This concept car offered many features, with its powerful 16-cylinder engine being the most impressive. Packed with 540 horsepower, this V-16 granted drivers the tremendous ability of accelerating from 0 to 60 mph within 4 seconds and an exhilarating, top running speed of 205 mph.To accomplish such high performance, Oliviero Pedrazzi-the chief designer for Cizeta-Moroder,-introduced a powerful engine that would combine the best of available sports car technology. Though it might be roughly imagined as two V-8s working harmouneously, this finely executed engine is actually much more sophisticated. For example, the engine is transversely mounted just ahead of the rear wheels, and the design incorporates 64 valves and a total of eight camshafts. Two radiators keep this powerplant cooled.With a price tag of $600,000 each, the Cizeta-Moroder came with many other enhanced features besides the inspired engine. For instance, the luxurious and roomy interior sported full leather, and high-end audio and air conditioning systems were standard. Aluminum formed the body of the automobile except for the roof which was built of steel as an added safety feature. Its immense brakes were provided by Brembo. And the tires, manufactured by Pirelli, were the largest available (245/40 front and 334/35 rear) at the time of cars introduction on the market.Even the design of the sports cars logo received maximum thought and attention. In 1988 Moroder received the Philadelphia award for design excellence for his attractive logo concept for the Cizeta-Moroder.Once production was up and running, the plan was to produce one of these super Italian sports cars a week. And other designs and models were envisioned for the future. But despite some orders, including one from an impressed Sultan of Brunai, a world recession forced production of the Cizeta-Moroder to come to a halt. And thats where the story of this dream car rests, at least for now.

Via our friends at TrendLand … Love the retouching on this photoshoot! Photographer/retoucher Daniel Bolliger photographed designer Sasa Kovacevic’s latest collection of SADAK and retouched the hell out of the photos to create a very ethereal aesthetic which feels more like painting than photography.

Design Q proudly unveiled their latest concept for the Avro Business Jet today, at the NBAA Convention in Atlanta. The ABJ Fusion is the third of five innovative and exciting interiors commissioned by BAE Systems. ﻿

“Evian has announced its latest designer collaboration. The spring water brand has worked with fashion designer Issey Miyake to create the fourth annual limited edition designer bottle. Miyake joins previous Evian bottle designers Christian Lacroix, Jean Paul Gaultier, and Paul Smith. The cheery bottle is decorated with a bright flower meant to embody the evian signature message, “Live young.” The inspiration for the bottle sprung from the Pleats Please line for which Issey Miyake is known.”

Designed by Giuguaro in 1968, through his new company, Ital Design, the Bizzarrini Manta was the company’s first project. The Manta was a concept car based on the tubular chassis of the Bizzarrini 538. The car featured a mid mounted Chevrolet V8 engine, producing 400bhp. The car was 1050mm high and 4100mm long and 1855mm wide.

Via Archdaily … The House 53 volumetry was defined following São Paulo city building laws and the site’s peculiar shape, which is just over 10 meters in front and approximately 30 meters in length. According to the legislation one can build in the neighborhood up to a two-floor building, settled upon the site’s lateral limits. A third floor is allowed as long as the lateral setbacks are respected. The house was conceived as a wood and mortar monolithic block with another concrete and glass volume upon it. Due to the ground’s small front and volumetry, the box’s two edges had to make the most of light’s entrance, which explains the large windows. It was also desirable that these windows would make it possible to darken the internal environment whenever needed. The house’s inferior volume, which comprises the living room on the first floor, and the bedrooms on the second floor, is a glass box with wooden brises that open as folding doors. The rooms’ front and back facades were designed to be completely closed or opened. From the outside, when the brises (and the front wall, which follows the same language) are closed, it´s impossible to distinguish the openings, and all wooden surfaces make up a pure single volume, without bumps. When these brises are opened, the house looks like a large wood folding.

This year once again, the House of G.H. Mumm presents a limited edition work: the Sabre G.H. Mumm by Patrick Jouin. Patrick Jouin wrapped a stainless steel champagne sword with a beautiful red leather handle resembling Mumm’s signature Cordon Rouge. A unique item that combines the sensuality of a red leather handle with the resistance of a steel blade but with a square end that won’t cut! This edition is presented in a box of pure white, of lacquered wood and leather, incorporating a tray, specially designed to hold ice and keep a bottle of Cordon Rouge at the ideal temperature.